Clarion 1985-12-13 Vol. 61 No. 10

              the Clarion.
Vol.61 No. 10
Bethel College 3900 Bethel Dr., St. Paul, MN
13 December 1985
..—   .,_
. —
~i
Christmas magic rediscovered at Riverplace
by Nancy Mundt
Christmastime at River-
place. It is a Courrier and Ives
kind of scene, from the horse-
drawn carriages to cobblestone
streets to the ice skating rink,
and bundled-up families making impermeable trains by
clenched mittened hands.
Inside of this popular shopping attraction is warmth and
the lingering aroma of fresh-
baked cookies. Riverplace is
ornate with colored tiles, artwork, plants, a marble fountain, a glass elevator and a
glass sky room. Now cheerily
trimmed in the holiday spirit
with red bows and pine, and
Christmas music played
throughout, who could ask for
more in this merry atmosphere?
Riverplace allows a Christmas shopper to have fun while
finding the right gifts for the
people on their lists. It's unique
specialty shops offer practical
and eccentric gifts.
One stand features gold-
dipped four-leaf clovers, leaves
and shells. For someone who
has everything—a large colorful sea shell with a rear gold
design painted on it. The average item is priced at eight dollars, and includes a gold chain.
In the Afton Toy Shop you
will probably see a lot of kids
playing with toys. And their
parents playing with toys. And
some grand-parents playing
with toys. You probably won't
find Barbie and Ken here or
even a Cabbage Patch Kid. The
toys here are unique, and not
just for children. The employees are enthusiastic to
show you how they work.
The Minnesota Place carries
everything from books on fish
ing to Guindon apparel. For the
person on your list who feels
Bah Humbug about the cold
and snow, this store carries the
official "I Hate Winter Club" T-
shirts and sweatshirts in pink
and turquoise. The design
shows snow falling on a lawn
chair and beach.
When the going gets tough,
the tough go shopping. When
the shopping gets tough, its
time to eat lunch. Surrounding
Lourdes Square in Riverplace
are several fast food restaurants. Here white wrought iron
tables and chairs surround a
tiered fountain.
Italian and Mexican food as
well as sandwiches are available in the square. Tempting
dessert stands include Boston
A 15 foot snow sculpture of .Father Christmas is centered in Lourdes Square at Riverplace. Sculptor William
Cole teaches at The Edina Art Center and The Anurag Art Studio in Eagan. The sculpture's arms are held
openly welcoming shoppers into the Christmas spirit in Minneapolis. Carhart/photo
Brownies, Fratelli ice cream,
and Granny's Cookie Co.
Wipe your mouth, it's time to
move on. There's yet more to
Riverplace during the holidays
than shopping and eating.
Mikal Winge, a handwriting
analyst has set up his table at
Riverplace. For fifteen dollars,
(last year it was ten) he will tell
you about your past, your personality, and will predict your
future from a sample of your
handwriting. Is he accurate?
Pretty much, except when it
comes to predicting the future
(he was wrong at predicting
my and two friends' futures).
Is it worth it? Probably not, depending on how strong one's
curiosity is.
The third-floor, glass-enclosed sky room directly above
the fountain in Lourdes Square
overlooks the Minneapolis
skyline and can be especially
pretty to sit in at night.
The New Years Eve at Riverplace celebration is worth
considering when making
plans for that night. Last year's
firework display at midnight
was fantastic. Standing above
the fountain in the square, a
penny in hand, is the perfect
place to finalize resolutions
and make a wish for the New
Year.
Only eleven shopping days
until Christmas!!
Auditions are tough, so prepare to "Amaze Me"
by Sarah Cole
The Bethel theatre arts department's production of
"Amaze Me" offers a tantalizing taste of everything from'
comedy to Shakespeare rolled
into one. ,   '
"We want lo gel people to see
our theatre department's talent
and a lot of them don't know
it's here. Talent hasn't diminished one iota since I'd been a
theatre arts major back in the
70's. People would be surprised," said Director and Instructor in Theatre Arts Meg
Zauner.
The diverse song and dance
review, similar lo the Broadway production of "A Chorus
Line'" is a series of original
audition scenes with improvised transitional scenes in
between."
"An audition experience is
very universal and like an interview, speech, or play, or
even a first date—it is something we can all relate to.
Everyone has been in that sit
uation when you have to put
your best foot forward and
impress someone," said Meg
Zauner, Director and Instructor in Theater Arts.
She said that in an audition,
the performer has 'x' amount of
minutes—a small amount of
time to show the director as
many talents as he or she has.
"It is a risk-taking proposition.
Life is a risk; trusting in God is
a risk," said Zauner.
"Amaze Me"'s traveling production creates an analogy between the aclor-director relationship and the God-Christian
relationship. Like a relationship with Jesus Christ, the
actor is dependent on the director but he or she has a free will,
God wants to guide our lives
according to His will, which is
best for us in the long-run.
"He's always there, but it's
our choice." said Zauner.
The director looks at the
show as a whole while the
actor only focuses on his or her
part. The actor could do two of
several self-defeating things.
For example, he or she could be
egocentric and try to take over
the director's job, or he or she
could say, 'I'm not going to
work with him_unless he does
what I want."
"If the actor doesn't learn the
lines, the director has nothing
to work with," said Zauner.
We as Christians can be carnal and decide to lead the
Christian life on our own according to what we think is
best for us. For example, we
may think we should go into
business when our God-given
talents are in writing.
"We as actors second-guess
the director; we as Christians
second-guess God," said
Zauner.
"Amaze Me" cont. p. 5
NSF aid in genetics research
by Laura J. Tibstra
Through the efforts of Bethel
Assistant Professor of Biology
C. Weldon Jones, the Bethel
science deparment will benefit
greatly.
Professor Jones has much to
be proud of, as his work
brought two grants to Bethel,
amounting to almost $140,000.
The governmental grants came
from the National Science
Foundation to benefit Jones'
study of the effect of hormones
on cells. Jones said, "What I do,
strangely enough, is study it in
fruit flies."
Fruit flies are important in
ihis research, as the basic
mechanisms in the flies and
humans are very similar. With
the insects, experiments are
more diverse, and also more
ethical. The study involves observing the changes that the
steroid hormone causes on individual cells. The overall effect of steroids is already
known. Jones said, however,
that "What's not obvious is
what's going on in there. A lot
of my research goes into studying genes, and the changes in
the genes of the cells."
In the fruit fly (scientifically
stated,  the drosophila),  the
hormonal change brings the
worm into the adult fly stage.
The changes that make up this
metamorphosis are similar to
the changes in humans when
steroids are injected'into the
system.
Jones' task is to isolate specific genes, using recombinant
DNA technology. Once isolated, the hormone is combined
with the gene and the change is
observed.
The actual results of Professor Jones' research serve mainly as a building block to further
Jones cont. p. 6